Mr Key acknowledged community groups such as the Catholic and Anglican churches had offered to play a role in resettlement and it was possible they would be called on for refugees who knew English and could be settled easily.However, he questioned whether some of the enthusiasm in the public to help would dissipate when Syria dropped out of the news.”Inevitably these things are heightened when the media coverage is so intense and over time some of that might dissipate a little bit. I’m not at all questioning the churches – if they say they have capacity and want to help we’ll be taking them up on that offer but practically we have to do our best to allow people to settle well in New Zealand.”Mr Key was criticised for his initial response to the crisis after he said New Zealand would not consider extra help until after a review of the refugee quota in the middle of next year. Yesterday’s announcement followed an increase in public calls for New Zealand to do more.Asked about his apparent backdown, Mr Key conceded the public response was a factor in his decision.The situation had escalated over the past week and scenes coming out of Europe had heightened the public response to it.Asked whether his own family history had played on his mind when making the decision, Mr Key said his mother Ruth had benefited from family reunification policies to get into the United Kingdom as an Austrian Jewish refugee.”If she hadn’t had that, there’s a very strong chance she would have been persecuted and gone to the concentration camps like some of her family members did. I have a responsibility to do what’s right for New Zealand and what works for New Zealand.”He said he took advice about what the country could handle before making those decisions. Many of the Syrians would likely go to Wellington where many of the 83 who came to New Zealand last year now live. That was partly because many would need Housing NZ homes and the demand in Auckland made it difficult.
Source: Key defends refugee response – National – NZ Herald News
